by Olivia Hart
“Please,” I begged. He didn’t say anything, but his hands wrapped around my waist, his fingers digging into my flesh, and without any hesitation, he plunged himself into me.
That was too much for me, and I felt the pressure overwhelm me. With a scream, that release that I’d unknowingly needed for so long exploded inside me. My body tried to shake and collapse, but the mists didn’t allow me any movement. The wisp-like tendrils were harder than iron and skin-tight.
And Sebastian didn’t stop using me. Even when the sensations were stronger than I’d ever imagined, he continued. The sound of his body slamming into mine was all that could be heard other than my whimpers. The smell of sex in the air was all-consuming.
Somehow, his motions and control over me were making that pressure build inside me even faster. I was so oversensitive that it almost hurt. If I hadn’t been wrapped in mists, I’d have pulled away.
At the same time, my body wanted to be vulnerable to him. It wanted to be the prey, and as I looked behind me, I knew that this was what he’d wanted from the very beginning. This complete control over me. He’d never asked for it. He’d never tried to force it on me.
But it had been his desperate desire more than any incubus hunger. He had wanted a wife that could handle him unleashed. That could want him unleashed. Now, I knew that I would never let him slip the leash back on.
This was what he was meant to do, and finally, he was able to do it. I would never take that away from him.
Everything inside me craved him, and though I’d already given him permission, I said the words that he needed to hear, “Don’t hold back.”
That sparked him into renewed vigor. His hand came down on my ass hard enough to make me scream, yet, that pressure inside me only grew. Again and again, he spanked my ass, and though it felt like it was on fire, I didn’t want him to stop.
The pressure was too much for me, and I was sure that I was about to feel that desperate release. Yet, the dam inside me only seemed to become stronger and more capable of holding back the desperation inside me.
My moans came out in rapid-fire, and my entire body tensed. I tightened around him, and I heard him moan. His hands gripped me tighter, and I knew that he was getting close.
I turned my head once more to watch him, to watch as the dark and twisted side of my husband found his own ecstasy for the first time in his long life. His eyes closed, and I willed him onward even as my body begged for release.
Then, his eyes snapped open, blazing with sapphire mists, and as he stared into mine, the dam collapsed. With it, my body tried to fall, to completely give out from underneath me as I screamed.
Still, I watched as Sebastian’s body shuddered. His muscles tightened, his body glistening with sweat, and he let out a low moan. The mists dissolved, setting me free. The world faded away, and I woke up in my own bed with Sebastian behind me.
“Fuck,” I whispered as he pulled away from me.
Sebastian was breathing harder than normal. Harder than I could remember. When he looked at me, his eyes were exactly as they’d been in the dream. Like the deepest sapphire covered in mists. Shouldn’t the mists have gone away now that we weren’t in the dreamscape?
“I can’t believe you did that,” he whispered as he lay down beside me.
I couldn’t stop staring into his eyes. “What do you mean?”
“You let go, and you pushed me to as well. I…” He paused for just a second before saying, “I didn’t think that I’d ever be able to do that.”
I smiled and snuggled up closer to him, resting my head on his broad shoulder. “You don’t have to wear the leash with me. You’re mine, but I want all of you. Even the parts that you hide from the world.”
“Thank you,” he said softly as he gave me a kiss on the forehead. “And thank you for experiencing what it is like to be an incubus. I don’t know what will happen in the next few weeks, but I feel better knowing that you understand me.”
“Me too. I had no idea what it was like to have to control myself. Your desires, my desires. Everything was heightened. Everything was just so intense. And that hunger was all-consuming. How do you do it? How do you function when you look at me and see the power inside me?”
“I remember that I’m not going to starve. Plus, you let me feed often enough. It’s not like I have to expend a lot of power anymore.”
I looked into those sapphire eyes again and had to ask, “You’re different now, Sebastian. I’ve never seen your eyes like this. They’re intense.”
His hand traced the curves of my side, and he grinned. “I’ve never felt this full of power before. Not even when I was feeding every day.”
I put my hand on his chest and let my body relax. “I wish we could stay like this forever. I wish that we could just let the world go for a while.”
“I know. Soon, my love. Soon, we’ll be able to let everything go for days or weeks at a time. It will all be over in two weeks. Then, we can take a break and straighten the rest of it out afterward.”
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. What a wonderful thought. To be able to just relax and enjoy my husband for once. As I snuggled up even tighter, Sebastian wrapped his arm around me.
“For now, just go to sleep, Rose,” he said.
I breathed Sebastian in. That soft dew scent that he radiated was so much stronger now. Being in his arms and smelling him was like closing your eyes in a hammock right after a rainstorm. Silent and calm. Just a little damp so that everything was cool.
And so peaceful that it was impossible to open your eyes. That was what I fell asleep to. The night before we went to war, I found peace in my husband’s arms.
Chapter 33
Sebastian
We had only left a small number of troops in the Dark Court. Enough to police the city and to get word back to us if Seraphina’s army was spotted in a counterattack. We’d left a single shadow walker to carry news back and forth between us and the Dark Court.
Now we stood on top of the walls and stared out at the troops that were arrayed. I had never imagined that this many soldiers and Fae would lend their strength to protect the Dark Realm.
Ogres had arrived last night, led by Oluk, the ogre that had destroyed a large section of the southern wall during construction. He’d decided that Rose was a Queen worth fighting for, and he’d traveled into the mountains to convince his brethren to follow him to war. Unlike the trolls, the ogres had no problem fighting.
Thousands of centaurs were arrayed, each with an elf rider on his back. Their silver plate armor and barding glinting in the faint light of dawn. Fairies hovered behind them grouped by complementing powers.
Small groups of vampires had been convinced to fight, and they stood cloistered together. They would be split amongst the groups to quickly zip in and out of battles to kill already engaged enemies.
A huge group of harpies stood on the ground behind the fairies moving anxiously. Dwarves in plate carried massive axes and shields behind the centaurs. Shifters mingled with the dwarves in various forms. Behind them all were blocks of archers of all types of races.
The final group, a group that no one would ever have expected, was a group of traders covered in assassin’s cloaks and armed with obsidian daggers.
All told, we had an army of fifty thousand. Very few other than the elves, centaurs, fairies, and dwarves had ever trained for war, but all of them were experienced in killing.
From our estimates, Seraphina would have closer to thirty thousand, but she would have the walls of the city to protect her troops. The troll clan had pledged that they would help to build siege equipment, and it would be needed.
We were as prepared as possible. Now we just had to get there.
“It’s incredible,” Rose said. “We really convinced all these people to fight for the Dark Realm.”
I took her hand glad that no matter what she was mine. “Yes, it is. No one has ever been able to convince this many people in the Dark Realm to do anything. We’
re not made to work together like this.”
“People do what they have to do to protect the ones they love,” she said, her eyes not leaving the masses of people standing below us.
“It’s time to leave,” I said, and she turned to me. “I just hope that our plan works. I couldn’t imagine watching all of these people die.”
“It has to work, or everyone will die. Maybe not tomorrow, but eventually. We both know this. These people are willing to sacrifice their lives to make sure that we win.”
“I just don’t know if we can beat her. Even with everything we’ve done. All of our plans. I just don’t know if we’re strong enough.”
I looked into her eyes, pulling her closer. I needed to feel her skin, her warmth. She was right, but it didn’t matter. “Then we’ll all die, and there was nothing we could do to stop it. But, we don’t know that. All we can do is the best that we can do, and this is it. This plan is the only thing that could possibly work.”
She nodded. “You’re right. I guess that it’s time to head out.”
I smiled at her and reached down to touch a shadow, creating a warren. A few moments later, Rose and I were standing in front of the army, and I told the centaur captains that it was time to go.
Slowly, the army began the long journey to the Court of Light. Embrys approached us from where he’d been standing at the head of the soldiers, and together, the three of us began walking.
Chapter 34
Rose
We had camped in the barren lands, the narrow strip of rocky ground where nothing grew between the Dark and Light Realms. I’d only seen it once when I traveled with the centaurs to the dragon caves, but now that I had seen the moment when the Thrones were made, I realized that this spot was where the Ancient One had stood. Directly between the Courts, she had landed, and this spot would forever be hallowed ground for me.
But tonight was an odd night. Even for being here. The air was thicker than normal, and though most of the people assumed it was because we were in this spot, I knew better. It was a night that would change things.
Come, Queen Rose. It is time we spoke again.
The words were a whisper on the wind as I lay on the barren ground beside Sebastian. Two of the GSS stood guard around us while the rest slept. I pushed the blanket aside and got to my feet. The goblins on guard were unsure what they were supposed to do, but I made a “stay there” motion and they seemed to breathe a little easier. No one wanted to wander about here.
I walked through the camp in search of the person that I had wanted to talk to ever since all of the problems with my mother had started back up. I had no way to contact her, though, and so I had resigned myself to figure out answers on my own.
As soon as I was outside of the camp, she appeared from nothing. Aurora in her white gown. A sadness in her eyes.
“Where have you been?” I whispered.
Ignoring my question, she said, “You are not strong enough to win this fight, Rose. You know that, don’t you?”
I looked away. Sebastian didn’t understand what had happened. He didn’t understand that there was no way to beat her, but Aurora knew.
“It doesn’t matter if I am or not. She won’t stop until one of us is dead. If we wait, she’ll find a way to become stronger. Or she’ll continue to send assassins after me. Eventually, she’ll win if I do nothing. At least this way we have a chance. I almost won that fight.”
“No, you didn’t,” another voice said from behind me, and I knew it. Risna, the Dark One. “You aren’t strong enough. You will lose this fight. Your people will die. Your baby will die.”
I felt the tears of frustration welling up, but I willed them away. “Do you know this, or are you guessing?” I asked with anger replacing the tears. I looked from Aurora to Risna and back at Aurora. “What would you have me do?”
“Wait. Survive until your daughter is of age. Then the two of you will be strong enough to defeat her. There are no more ways for Seraphina to gain strength.”
I began to laugh and Risna asked, “What is funny? This is a serious thing that we are talking about.”
I was barely able to stop laughing as I looked at both of them. “So you knew that she could become this powerful? Did you see it and just ignore it?”
“She…” Aurora looked away for the first time. “She pulled power from a place that I cannot see. She did things that I did not think possible.”
“Oh, well I guess you don’t know Seraphina well enough. If you give her enough time, she will find a way to kill anyone. I’m taking away her time. I’m taking away her options. She will have to defeat me on her own. No more tricks. No more sneaking. Simple. Clean. Things that she is terrible at.”
Risna glanced at Aurora and nodded. “I would do this as well, sister.”
Aurora took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “Then how do you intend to fight her?”
“I will fight her with the only advantage I have. Loyalty. People who are willing to fight with me. I’m going to take my strongest fairies, and we will continue to attack her until she isn’t strong enough to protect herself. She can’t pull power from the Realm as I can.”
Aurora shook her head, but Risna was the one who answered. “That is a dangerous thing, Rose. You could drain the Dark Realm in that fight. It is very unstable already.”
“It’s safer for me to drain the Dark Realm than to die and have no more conduit.”
Both of them seemed uneasy, but when they looked at each other, they nodded. “Then we will do what we can. There are other things that can be done when you have lived and died as we have.”
Risna said, “We trust you, Rose, but you do not know everything. These things that are happening were never supposed to happen. We were supposed to be united. The memories from the Thrones are of no use.”
Aurora glanced at Risna. “Do you know where your blade is?”
Risna shook her head. “No. It was lost after I died. During my time in the void, someone took it. That was thousands of years ago. I have no idea where it is now.”
Aurora nodded to her sister. “I may be able to find it.” She looked at me, her eyes becoming milky, and said, “Do not rush. You have set the strings in motion, and you cannot stop now. Something is happening. Tangled lines, and twisted souls.” Her eyes cleared and she took a step back, and it was as though the wind blew her away bit by bit.
Risna smiled at me and said, “Your courage is admirable, Rose. Trust yourself, for the rest of the world trusts you.” She slowly faded into shadow, and then she was gone.
I took a deep breath. Maybe Aurora would find the teal blade. A blade made from the eye of a dragon. That would give me an edge against Seraphina. I turned around and out of the corner of my eye, I saw someone I had never expected to see.
My father. Standing as he had all those times in my memories. Leaned up against a boulder, one leg crossing the other with a mischievous grin on his face.
I immediately began running to him, but as soon as I got within a few feet of him, he faded into the darkness just as Risna had. I had to blink back tears as I realized that it had to have been my mind playing tricks on me.
But I’d seen him so often here lately. Just the flash of his hair or those eyes out of the corner of my vision. But I’d felt him. Like when he used to watch me play. I always knew that he was watching even when I thought that I was all alone, and he was hiding in wait for me.
I couldn’t help but think that maybe his ghost was here, but that was unheard of, wasn’t it? This was a world of magic. I’d have thought that someone would have said something about ghosts by now if they were real.
I turned back to the camp. Tomorrow, we would be in the Realm of Light and anything could happen. I needed to get some sleep.
Chapter 35
Seraphina
“They’re a day’s march away from the Court of Light, Lady,” the general said. He wore a noble’s attire. As expensive as he could find. He wore a silk tunic and trousers embroidered
with gold thread in the shape of vines running up from the floor. It was hideous but certainly expensive. It did nothing to hide the pot belly or the thinning hairline that were so unusual for an elf. He was a pompous man, but he had his uses.
He wasn’t all that useful on his own, but his commanders were among the best that could be found. Truly battle-tested elves and fairies who trusted him to protect their interests so that they could focus on the soldiers and their actual jobs.
“Let them march,” I said with a grimace as another pain shot through my chest. “They march to their death. Don’t leave the castle gates unless absolutely necessary. Make them expend their flying troops. Fairies are the only ones that truly matter.”
The general nodded and stood up. As he left, the words filled me once again. Remember Sera. Remember me. Remember your daughter. You loved us once. Stop this, please.
That voice. I was sure that I knew it. Someone that I had known once before. Someone that I cared for. Someone that had meant something to me.
But why did he speak of a daughter? I had no daughter. I had never taken a consort. The voice faded once again, and I moved to the hall. It was time to see if I would have the weapon I hoped for.
In the room she’d lived in for so many years, she lay chained to the bed, her body wrapped in steel.
“Are you ready to do as I say?” I asked the girl.
“No. It doesn’t matter how much you hurt me, I’ll never help you. You’re evil. She’s the kindest woman I’ve ever met. I hope you die.”
I sighed. This was not as easy as when Sebastian had been chained in my cell. He could survive torture. I didn’t know how much she could handle without ruining her usefulness, but I needed to force her to do the one thing she continued to refuse.
